The Real Ghostbusters Data East
The Real Ghostbusters was an arcade game based on the cartoon series of the same name released by Data East in 1987. The game was later ported to the Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum.Wikipedia section on the game The game was released as a dedicated three player cabinet, as well as a two player conversion kit. Arcade Releases The Real Ghostbusters arcade game is a modified export version of the Japanese arcade game "Meikyū Hunter G" (迷宮ハンターG) with most of the graphical assets changed into Ghostbusters related imagery and the original music replaced with a chiptune rendition of Ray Parker Jr.'s theme song. However, the changes are not just superficial, the gameplay in "Meikyū Hunter G" also differs significantly from its Ghostbusters counterpart. The second button is not the proton stream but does a spin shot (which also consumes energy)- instead, pressing both weapon buttons makes the beam. There are several power-ups for the player's gun in Meikyū Hunter G, each giving the gun one of six different attributes (such as longer range, faster bullets), whereas The Real Ghostbusters only has one power-up item for the gun that just increases . Meikyū Hunter G consists of only eight stages, in contrast to the ten stages in The Real Ghostbusters, and does not have a proper ending. After clearing the eighth stage, the game simply loops back to the first stage with an increased difficulty level. Home System Releases In 1988, the UK had ported versions of the arcade game to different types of home computers. *Amiga (Disk) *Commodore 64 *Zx Spectrum (Cassette) *Amstrad CPC (Disk) Gameplay The game allows up to two or three players depending on the version. Each player character is distinguished by the colors of his jumpsuit: blue (left side player), yellow (right side player), and red (center player and only present in the three player version) . The objective of the game is to fight your way through each of 10 levels, capturing and storing ghosts along the way. The end of each level features one or more guardians who, when defeated, will yield a key allowing the player(s) to exit that level. The characters are armed with both guns and Proton Beams. Creatures can be shot with either weapon to transform them into ghosts. The ghosts can then be zapped with the proton beam to store them in the player's backpack. Ammunition for the gun is unlimited, while the proton beam has a limited charge which is displayed at the top of the screen. When two proton beams are crossed, it will combine into an even more powerful proton beam. Also displayed are the number of lives remaining and the number of ghosts collected. On reaching the end of a level there is a short graphic sequence in which collected ghosts are beamed into ghost storage. A bonus life is awarded for every hundredth ghost delivered. Some creatures and objects (e.g. oildrums, wheel-barrows) also award the player with the following bonus items. Items * Ghostbusters logo - Increases the firepower of the player's gun. The more logos the player accumulates, the stronger it becomes. * Slimer - Floats aroud the player from attacks, shielding him from enemy attacks. * Trap - Refills the player's beam energy. * Potion - Creates an aura that makes the player invulnerable for a while until it disappears. * Skull - Drains the player's beam energy. Stages *Stage 01 *Stage 02 *Stage 03 *Stage 04 *Stage 05 *Stage 06 *Stage 07 *Stage 08 *Stage 09 *Stage 10 Characters Note, that enemies also used as bosses are listed with a link in the enemies section. Enemies *Idle Attacking Ghost *Flying Dragon *Green Alien *Braided with Hair bows Ghost *Mummy *Haunted Spikes *Large Slime Head *Creepy Thing Ghost *Elephant with Bow tie Ghost *Cult Leaders *Dirt Eel *Walking Gooper *Tree Spirit *Dirt Creature *Flying Bat *Bouncing Ball *Mini Flying Bat *Gill Man Monster *Wall Monster Head *Red Imp *Flying Dragon Head *Long Neck Bird *Sickle Attackers Bosses *Gliding Grim Reaper *Toy Ghost *Long Neck Bird *Long Neck Wall Monster (Assisted by One Eyed Green Ghost) *Sickle Attacker *Teleporting Grim Reaper *Ball and Chain Lava Monster *Elephant with Bow tie Ghost Trivia *On page 10, panel 4, of Ghostbusters: Get Real Issue #1, on the black TV behind Ray (RGB) is Stage 1 of the Commodore 64 version. Grab used as reference for "The Real Ghostbusters" Commodore 64 version *On page 19 of Ghostbusters: Get Real Issue #2, in panel 5, on the screen in front of the chalkboard is a grab of the introduction scene that features the Ghostbusters entering the Firehouse from Ecto-1. *On page four of Ghostbusters International #5, in panel 2, on the TV screen is a still from Stage 2 of the game featuring some Large Slime Heads. *On page 4 of Ghostbusters International #8, in panel 3, on the TV is the Game End screen from The Real Ghostbusters Data East arcade game. *On page 5 of Ghostbusters 101 #5, panel 1, on the black console's screen is a still of the players shooting at the Gliding Grim Reaper. *On page 10 of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #1, in panel 1, to the left of Donatello is the Data East arcade makes a non-canon cameo. *On page 16 of Ghostbusters Crossing Over Issue #8, in panel 1, on the screen above Cait Banner's head is a still from stage 1 of The Real Ghostbusters Data East video game. See also *The Real Ghostbusters *Other Ghostbusters Video Games References External links *Real Ghostbusters, The (arcade) on ExoticA wiki *Real Ghostbusters, The on World of Spectrum *Meikyuu Hunter G on The Arcade Flyer Archive *The Real Ghostbusters on The Arcade Flyer Archive *Games D Base.com- The Real Ghostbusters (Booklet for 2 player is there for download) Gallery Overall RGBDataEastVGtitlescreen.png|Title screen for Arcade version RGBCom64cover.png|Cover of Commodore 64 version rgb_amiga_liner.jpg|Cassette Liner (Front/Back Covers) of Amiga version RGBcoversionbookletimagestockghosts.png|Image in Arcade cab conversion booklet of Stock Ghosts (Full Booklet can be downloaded at Games D Base com) RealGhostbustersCommodore64GetReal01.jpg|Non-Canon Cameo in Ghostbusters: Get Real Issue #1 GozerianToasterGB2GBDataEastGetRealIssue2.jpg|As seen in Ghostbusters: Get Real Issue #2 RGBDataEastIDWVol3Issue5.jpg|Non-Canon Cameo in Ghostbusters International #5 RGBDataEastIDWVol3Issue8.jpg|Non-Canon Cameo in Ghostbusters International #8 GarrettParker13.jpg|Non-Canon Cameo in Ghostbusters 101 #5 RGBDataEastTMNTGB2Issue1-1.jpg|Non-Canon Cameo in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #1 RGBDataEastTMNTGB2Issue1-2.jpg|Non-Canon Cameo in TMNT/Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #1 RGBDataEastIDWCrossingOverIssue8.jpg|Non-canon reference seen in Ghostbusters Crossing Over Issue #8 Arcade Cabinet Photographs in this section were taken in June 1997 by Mark Brown, who sent prints to Paul Rudoff of Spook Central (Fan Site). Paul scanned in the prints for use on this Wiki. The screen frame artwork is from a different source. RGB Arcade Mark Brown June 1997 img1.jpg RGB Arcade Mark Brown June 1997 img2.jpg RGB Arcade Mark Brown June 1997 img3.jpg RGB Arcade Mark Brown June 1997 img4.jpg RGB Arcade Mark Brown June 1997 img5.jpg RGB Arcade Mark Brown June 1997 img6.jpg RGB Arcade Mark Brown June 1997 img7.jpg RGB Arcade Screen Frame.jpg|Screen Frame Artwork Meikyuu Hunter G MeikyuuHunterGDataEasttitlescreen.png|Title screen for Meikyuu Hunter G for Arcade version MeikyuuHunterGflyerfront.png|Meikyuu Hunter G Flyer front (Full sized version can be viewed at Meikyuu Hunter G on The Arcade Flyer Archive) Category:Video Games Category:The Real Ghostbusters Data East